Morning Hits: Brookbank, Expansion, E. Staal and Official CBA Talk

Chris Kuc: Defenseman Sheldon Brookbank was hoping to re-sign with the Blackhawks, but will be at the Flames training camp on a tryout. He didn’t rule out returning to the Blackhawks though: “You never know what could happen from now until the start of the season.”

Allan Walsh: It is clearly “when” and “where” instead of “if” when it comes to NHL expansion.

“It was from training,” Staal said. “It wasn’t anything that was nagging. I felt it a little bit and took a week off from the exercise I was doing. I felt good the next week, then kind of really hurt it.”

John Shannon: CBA talks between the NHL and the Officials Union are still “ongoing” as of yesterday. The last time both sides were working on an agreement, it went down to the eve of the regular season before a deal was reached.